One of three area men charged with breaking into a Pleasant Valley Township home to cut open a safe with a blowtorch and steal more than $100,000 worth of guns, was sentenced to probation last week.

Brian Reicks, 19, of Riceville, Iowa, pleaded guilty to one count of felony theft of a firearm and one count of felony theft for taking a motor vehicle without consent as part of the agreement Oct. 15, 2015. He was originally charged with an additional count of felony theft and an additional count of felony first-degree burglary and possession of a dangerous weapon.

Reicks was sentenced to 20 years of supervised probation.

Reicks, Jacob Mogren, 18, and Isaac Morse, 20, also allegedly stole several motorcycles and other equipment from the property.

According to court complaints, the men allegedly broke into a home on April 8, 2015, where they tipped over a gun safe, cut open the bottom of it, and stole more than 85 guns, then allegedly stored the guns at Morse’s home in Riceville.

Two 1975 Norton Commando 850cc motorcycles were also stolen, and were later recovered from a La Crescent, Minnesota, man who paid about $1,600 for the motorcycles from a man pretending to be the victim.

Most of the guns were sold, and police recovered at least 82 of them.

While it is good that the firearms were recovered, and hopefully returned to their rightful owners (No, that was not in the story), consider that at least 3 more guns are in the hands of people who are either prior criminals or at least now are in possession of stolen property.

Under Minnesota law, a person could receive a sentence of up to 20 years or $35,000 in fines for just one count of burglary in the first degree. However, if that theft included a gun, the prison sentence could be the same with the fines escalating to $100,000!

Reicks is also on a 90-day suspended sentence, according to the Filmore County Sheriff’s office, and is subject to $590 in fees and restitution on a misdemeanor receiving stolen property charge picked up in the same county in 2015. Guess what? Charges of felony burglary and damage to property were dismissed against him in that case.

Why in the world would prosecutors give Reicks probation? This is absolute insanity and demonstrates that many times prosecutors show more sympathy for the criminals than their victims. The Bible would instruct that the punishment be that the men restore what they stole with interest (Exodus 22:1-4). Reicks and his pals would not be incarcerated at the expense of their fellow man, but rather would make restitution to their victims.

This is part of the problem in America. We forget justice and mercy. We have even lost the ability to think clearly about both.

I could also point out that this is another instance to highlight the hypocrisy of the current administration in Washington that calls for more gun laws, but fails to enforce their current unconstitutional gun laws. Just recall the infamous Joe Biden’s ridiculous comments following the Sandy Hook incident. While Barack Hussein Obama Soetoro Sobarkah and a plethora of un-American gun grabbers sought to push more gun control legislation, including tighter background checks, Biden told Jim Baker of the National Rifle Association, “regarding the lack of prosecutions on lying on Form 4473s, we simply don’t have the time or manpower to prosecute everybody who lies on a form, that checks a wrong box, that answers a question inaccurately.”

Obviously, in Reicks case the issue is theft, and in the case of Biden the issue is lying. However, in both instances justice is not being administered.

We have heard numerous crimes that have occurred by people who stole their guns. Sandy Hook’s official story claims that Adam Lanza stole his mother’s guns, with which he committed the crime. However, until these people who are supposed to bring justice do so, I think their “license” to put forth more gun legislation should be revoked…. Oh wait, that was what the Second Amendment was all about!